Concubine Yuan averted Xie Fengran's gaze and mumbled, "I wouldn't dare!"
"Auntie, Father, Mother, and Grandmother are all here. They haven't said a word yet. Why are you in such a hurry? Could it be that you don't trust Father and think he'll wrong Sister?"
"Eldest Miss, you've misunderstood me. I definitely don't mean that!"
Concubine Yuan was afraid that Xie Yi would misunderstand, so she quickly explained.
Xie Fengran's eyes shifted. She curtsied to Xie Yi and said, "Father, just now, Sister stopped me at the second gate and inquired about the Crown Prince. Since I didn't want the elders to wait, I thought I'd come back and report first. And I was just telling the truth. The Crown Prince really didn't mention Sister. This matter has nothing to do with Sister. I don't know why it became me trampling on Sister in Auntie's mouth."
As she spoke, a look of grievance appeared on her face. She looked at Xie Yi pitifully and said, "Father, does Auntie think that with Grandmother and you here, Sister will still be wronged? Auntie blamed me in front of so many people. How can I stay in the mansion in the future!"
Xie Yi's anger was redirected. He glared at Concubine Yuan and said, "Mother hasn't said a word yet! Where do you get the right to butt in here? Behave yourself!"
Concubine Yuan opened her mouth. Looking at Xie Fengran's tearful expression, she wondered why the Eldest Miss, who was always so stubborn, was so shrewd today.
Seeing that Xie Yi was protecting Xie Fengran, Xie Yunxi wasn't happy. She said with a sob, "Father, don't blame Auntie. Auntie was just too worried. The whole thing was caused by me. If you want to punish someone, punish me!"
The tears that came so easily and the skillful reaction showed that she knew exactly how to handle Xie Yi's temper.
Sure enough, seeing Xie Yunxi like this, how could Xie Yi punish her?
He completely forgot that he just wanted Concubine Yuan to be more obedient.
"Sister, when has Father ever said he would punish Auntie? He just taught Auntie a lesson because she was being unruly." Xie Fengran spoke before Xie Yi could.
She directly blocked Xie Yi's chance to comfort his beloved daughter.
"Could it be that as soon as Father teaches Auntie a lesson, Sister has to speak up? Isn't this interfering in Father's affairs in the inner courtyard? Sister, this isn't right."
Xie Yi was swayed by Xie Fengran's words. The more he thought about it, the more he felt it made sense. "Xier, your aunt is really unruly. Don't say any more!"
"Yes!" Xie Yunxi lowered her eyes and gritted her teeth. Although she was unwilling, she knew that with this label from Xie Fengran, she couldn't speak for her aunt anymore.
Seeing that the situation was in her favor, Xie Fengran smiled at Xie Yi. "Thank you, Father. You truly live up to being the head of the family. You handle things fairly. But I have one more thing to say."
"What is it?"
"Father, Auntie kept saying 'I' in front of you, Mother, and Grandmother. Isn't this a bit inappropriate? If outsiders hear it, there might be another stir."
Xie Yi thought about it and realized she was right.
So Concubine Yuan was scolded again.
In this round of confrontation, Xie Fengran had the upper hand over Concubine Yuan and her daughter.
After chatting for a while, the old lady told everyone to leave and didn't ask Xie Fengran to stay.
Xie Fengran was sensible enough to follow the others out.
The old lady of the Xie family stared blankly at Xie Fengran's back.
"Old Madam, the Eldest Miss has already left. Don't look anymore!"
The old lady came back to her senses. Her expression was strange. She looked at Nanny Su and said, "A Su, do you think it's really a good thing that I gave the family head token to her?"
Nanny Su didn't know why the old lady suddenly said this. But she didn't dare to answer casually. After thinking for a while, she said, "You saw it today. The Eldest Miss has won the favor of the Crown Prince. There's nothing more important than this. As long as the Eldest Miss marries the Crown Prince smoothly, she'll have a chance to become the empress in the future. Then, what do you have to worry about!"
But the old lady wasn't so optimistic. A look of worry appeared on her face. "I thought the Marquis would always side with that mother and daughter. Now it seems I underestimated Fengran. She can even make her father help her. It's really unexpected!"
If she could even win over her son in this mansion, who could stop her?
The mother and daughter, Xie Yunxi and her mother, were no match for her. If they didn't rely on Xie Yi's support, they would have been dealt with by her long ago.
The old lady thought for a while and told Nanny Su, "Go and choose a stewardess for Yunshi. Also, send a stewardess to the Listening to the Wind Courtyard. Tell them it's my order. From now on, she'll go to the Girls' Academy. Relying on those maids won't do."
"But you already promised not to send a stewardess to the Eldest Miss's courtyard."
"That was then, and this is now. She has the family head token now. I don't even know what she's doing. What's there to investigate about the people in the mansion? That rough maid in the Listening to the Wind Courtyard was driven out. I don't know anything about what's going on there!"
For so many years, this granddaughter had been under her control. But now, she was a bit out of control, which the old lady couldn't accept.
Xie Fengran didn't expect that because of the Crown Prince's visit, the old lady of the Xie family saw the Crown Prince's attitude and realized that she had been too lenient towards her.
Qin Junxing was also surprised. He was just waiting in the palace for Prime Minister Zhang to wake up when the Crown Prince went to the Marquis's mansion.
As Qin Junxing listened to Qing Ye's words, his face became more and more gloomy. Qing Ye was so scared that he didn't know whether he should continue.
"Continue!"
"Yes. Young Master Sun went with the Crown Prince. When the Crown Prince left the Marquis's mansion, it was the Eldest Miss of the Xie family who saw him off. They both seemed to be in a good mood."
"In a good mood?" Qin Junxing wasn't in a good mood. When he was in a bad mood, he wanted to show up in front of Xie Fengran.
He reached into the secret compartment of the carriage, took out a piece of paper, glanced at it, and rolled it up.
After thinking for a while, he knocked on the carriage and said, "Go to the Marquis of Dingguo's mansion!"
"Really? My lord, the Crown Prince visited in the name of delivering a reward to the Queen. How can we go?"
Qin Junxing weighed the paper in his hand and said casually, "To deliver hush money!"
Qing Ye, who was extremely impressed, said, "Boss, you really 'make the best use of everything'. Can this excuse be reused like this?"
He hoped that Miss Xie wouldn't be so angry that she'd die and that the boss wouldn't be beaten out.
Obviously, being beaten out was not an option in Qin Junxing's logic.
When the carriage reached the gate of the Marquis's mansion, Qin Junxing looked at the guards at the gate and thought about how to sneak into the mansion without alerting the others.
Qing Ye didn't know what his master was thinking. He opened the curtain eagerly and said obsequiously, "My lord, do you want me to call the gate?"
"Call what? Go in so ostentatiously and let the Crown Prince think I'm provoking him?"
Qing Ye's mouth twitched. He thought to himself, Isn't it provoking?
Who knew that Qin Junxing got out of the carriage and his figure disappeared in an instant.
Only a voice came from his ear, "Don't wait for me!"